SplintER: A New on Orthopedic Injuries and Splinting
The purpose of the SplintER series is to teach the fundamentals and introduce advanced concepts of splinting to the Emergency Medicine (EM) professional. Humans have been splinting their injuries since 1300 B.C.1 Although the fundamentals have not changed, splint selection and application require some thoughtful consideration. A 2017 prospective, observational study in the Journal of Pediatric Orthopaedics demonstrated that more than 90% of splints applied in the Emergency Department were inappropriate (30% applied by EM attendings), as evaluated by orthopaedic surgeons.2 While that number may not be representative in your institution, it certainly highlights the inadequacies that many of us feel [+]
I am Liz Crowe, Advanced Clinical Social Worker: How I Stay Healthy in EM
Our work isn’t easy, but it would be impossible without the help of our colleagues. It’s time for our second post on How Our ED Colleagues Stay Healthy in EM! Liz Crowe is an Advanced Clinical Social Worker from Brisbane, Australia. She is no stranger to the FOAMed world, and her electric personality is infectious. Always laughing, always trying to make others smile, that’s just how she rolls. Here’s how she stays healthy in EM! [+]
Extensor Tendon Lacerations to the Foot
A young man is brought into an emergency department after an electric lawn edger cut through his work boot and into the dorsum of his right foot. He has a clearly contaminated 5 cm x 1 cm laceration on the lateral side, and an underlying tendon is exposed. Sensation is diminished around the wound and he is unable to actively extend his 5th toe past a neutral position. How would you diagnose and repair his extensor tendon injury? [+]
I am Dr. Linda Regan, EM Program Director: How I Stay Healthy in EM
Dr. Linda Regan is an emergency physician from Baltimore, Maryland. When she’s not on shift, she can be found taking care of her residents and colleagues, always placing others before herself. Dr. Regan’s holistic approach to her career and everyday life is something for all of us to emulate! When she’s not occupied with one of her many jobs, she can be found enjoying time with family and friends. Here’s how she stays healthy in EM! [+]
26 Best Wellness Apps for Emergency Physicians | A Wellness Think Tank Initiative
If you have spent any time working in an emergency department in the last 10 years, you have undoubtedly come across a conversation about wellness and burnout in medicine. Despite increasing awareness, the data is bleak: Emergency Medicine (EM) physicians experience burnout more than any other specialty.1 As we consider that EM was the second most popular Match in 2017, it’s important to focus on collaborative efforts and ensure that the increasing number of EM trainees does not lead to a generation of burned out EM providers.2 [+]
Update on the ED Management of Intracranial Hemorrhage: Not All Head Bleeds Are the Same
Robust and comprehensive studies now support specific management guidelines for patients presenting with different intracranial hemorrhages (ICH). From the Emergency Department perspective, the primary dilemmas involve specific blood pressure goals and whether seizure prophylaxis with phenytoin is necessary. The Brain Trauma Foundation provides an excellent summary of the current guidelines.1 [+]
William Shyy, MD
Co-Director of Emergency [+]
IDEA Series: Video Review as an Experiential Model for Difficult Airway Education
The Problem Difficult airways, including those that are edematous, burned, soiled, or traumatic, pose one of the greatest procedural challenges for emergency physicians. Furthermore, unanticipated difficult airways represent 5-15% of intubations in the ED. Emergency medicine residents gain experience with difficult airways largely through hands-on practice while caring for critically ill patients. The relatively low frequency of complex intubations, however, necessitates an educational model that extends beyond the ED and can be shared with multiple learners. [+]
Announcing a Crowdsourced Wellness Initiatives Database for EM Residency Programs
“The part can never be well unless the whole is well.” – Plato The rigors of post-graduate training can strain even the most stoic of residents – the next task, the next project, the next shift. These reduce our resiliency to stressful situations. The likelihood is that your program has worked very hard to develop new and innovative initiatives to improve resident wellness and resiliency. And chances are, they have done this in-house. It takes tremendous efforts, however, to create and revise the efforts. In this digital age of social media, this siloed approach no longer is necessary because programs can [+]
AIR Series Psychobehavioral 2017
Welcome to the Psychobehavioral Module! After carefully reviewing all relevant posts from the top 50 sites of the Social Media Index the ALiEM AIR Team is proud to present the highest quality toxicology content. Below we have listed our selection of the 2 highest quality blog posts within the past 12 months (as of June 2017) related to psychology emergencies, curated and approved for residency training by the AIR Series Board. More specifically in this module, we identified 0 AIRs and 2 Honorable Mentions. We recommend programs give 1 hour (about 30 minutes per article) of III credit for this module. As of June [+]
I am Dr. Chaiya Laoteppitaks, Assistant Program Director: How I Stay Healthy in EM
Dr. Chaiya Laoteppitaks is an emergency physician practicing in Philadelphia. When he’s not busy with his Assistant Program Director duties at Einstein Medical Center, he can be found mastering the art of cooking for his family and friends. Planning his days and weeks, ensures that he maintains his balance, and makes time for his wellness and family too! Here’s how he stays healthy in EM! [+]